Iowa Court of Appeals affirms Mason City man’s lascivious acts conviction

MASON CITY — A Mason City man’s lascivious acts with a child conviction has been affirmed by the Iowa Court of Appeals.

59-year-old Patrick Holt was arrested in January of last year after being accused of molesting a girl under the age of 12 at his home in the 1400 block of North Federal. The girl reported the alleged abuse to authorities in June of 2017, saying that Holt touched her sexually and showed her pornography three or four years ago.

A Cerro Gordo County jury convicted Holt after a three-day trial, with District Judge James Drew sentencing him to ten years in prison after denying a motion to overturn the conviction and a request for a new trial.

Holt appealed his conviction, saying the court erred in denying him a new trial, that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to testimony from an expert witness, that the court erred by instructing the jury on general and specific intent, and that the court abused its discretion in issuing the sentence.

The Court of Appeals in their ruling did not agree with any of Holt’s issues and affirmed the conviction and sentence.